Trump Traders are plotting to game the electoral college

(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

published 4 November 2016

Depending on whom you ask, voting for a third-party candidate is a bold protest against the two-party establishment, or an irresponsible act in an election where the stakes for both sides are so high. But 2016 isn't the first time Americans have grappled with such concerns, The Washington Post reports. In 2000, Republicans and Democrats alike feared that third-party votes for Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan would be "throwaways." So a plot was formed:

The idea was this: Convince Nader fans in swing states like Florida to pledge to swap their votes with [Al] Gore fans in uncontested, deep blue or red "safe" states. Nader's total winnings of the popular vote would remain the same — preserving principle — but their precious swing-state ballots would influence the electoral college tally, which decides the election anyway. Under this system, a vote for Nader meant a vote for Not Bush. [The Washington Post]

Vote swapping is back for the 2016 election with Trump Traders, a website launched by John Stubbs and Ricardo Reyes, the same people behind R4C16, or "Republicans for Clinton in 2016."

"Republicans everywhere should show up to vote, and those in swing states should vote tactically, for Mrs. Clinton, and for Republicans down ticket," wrote Stubbs and Reyes in an op-ed for The New York Times. “But for voters who can't quite stomach pulling the lever for the Democrat, offsetting that choice with a pledged vote in another state may make all the difference."

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Best of all? The whole thing is totally legal thanks to a 2007 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which said vote swapping is “clearly protected by the First Amendment” since no gifts or bribes are exchanged. Intrigued? Learn more about Trump Traders at The Washington Post or by visiting their website.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.